Custom Sticker Artwork Specs and Downloadable Templates
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About 15% of my inbound emails are some version of the same question: "What size does my artwork need to be?" or "Do you have a template I can use?" This page answers all of that in one place, including free downloadable templates for every product I print.
If you are designing artwork for custom One Touch stickers, Top Loader stickers, or a SpringCore card stand front plate, this is the page you need. You have two easy paths: download the template for your product and design inside the marked zones, or just upload your logo at checkout and I'll build the layout for you. Either way, nothing goes to print until you've approved the proof.
Two easy paths for getting your artwork right
Path 1: Download the template for your product below. Open it in any design software, put your artwork inside the safe zone, export it, and upload at checkout. The template has the bleed, cut line, and safe zones already marked, so you don't need to know the exact measurements.
Path 2: Just upload your logo at checkout and I'll handle the layout. I do a proof-based workflow anyway, so I'll position everything correctly and send you a proof for approval before anything goes to print.
One Touch stickers are all 1.10 inches wide. The height varies by size (35pt through 180pt) because thicker cases need a taller sticker to wrap correctly.
Top Loader stickers come in two variants: Wide (1.1 inches) and Narrow (0.75 inches). Pick Wide for standard top loaders and Narrow for slim ones.
Still have questions after reading? Email me at sales@actualprints.com.
Custom One Touch sticker dimensions
One Touch stickers are always 1.10 inches wide. That width is fixed across every size because all standard magnetic one-touch cases have the same front-to-back depth at the top edge where the sticker wraps. The height is what changes, because that dimension needs to cover the front face, bend over the top, and continue down the back face. A thicker case has a wider top edge, which means the sticker needs to be taller (longer) to make the full trip across.
Here are the six sizes matched to common card-case thicknesses:
| Size | Width | Height (total unfolded) | Designed for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35pt | 1.10" | 1.25" | 35pt magnetic one-touch cases |
| 55pt | 1.10" | 1.27" | 55pt magnetic one-touch cases |
| 75pt | 1.10" | 1.30" | 75pt magnetic one-touch cases |
| 100pt | 1.10" | 1.31" | 100pt magnetic one-touch cases |
| 130pt | 1.10" | 1.35" | 130pt magnetic one-touch cases |
| 180pt | 1.10" | 1.40" | 180pt magnetic one-touch cases |
The sticker wraps in three panels: Back panel, then the Top fold (the part that goes over the top edge of the case), then the Front panel. The template shows where each panel starts and ends. Most customers put the same logo on both the front and back panels and use the Top fold for their Instagram handle or a website URL. That way the case is branded from whichever side a buyer is looking at, and the little strip on top gives them somewhere to find you.
Look at the case itself. Standard Ultra Pro One Touch cases are labeled with their thickness in points (35pt, 55pt, 100pt, etc.) and that label is usually printed on the case packaging. If you have the case in hand, match the label to the size above. If you're not sure, email me at sales@actualprints.com and I'll help you figure it out before you order.
Custom Top Loader sticker dimensions
Top Loader stickers also wrap, but in a simpler two-panel structure: Back panel, then a small bend point at the top edge of the sleeve, then the Front panel. The bend point is not printed. It is the narrow area between the two panels where the sticker folds around the top of the sleeve. Keep your artwork and text away from that zone, and the template shows exactly where it falls.
Top Loader stickers come in two variants based on your logo shape:
| Variant | Width | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Wide | 1.1" | Standard top loaders. Horizontal logos and wordmarks. |
| Narrow | 0.75" | Slim top loaders. Vertical logos, square marks, compact icons. |
The width above is the sticker width. Once applied, each panel sits on either side of the top edge of the sleeve. The front panel gets the most visibility because that's the side facing out when a buyer holds the sleeve.
Most customers don't think about this distinction until they are already designing, so here is the short version: if your logo is wider than it is tall, pick Wide. If your logo is taller than it is wide or roughly square, pick Narrow. If you are genuinely not sure, Wide is the safer default for most horizontal brandmarks.
SpringCore Card Stand front plate
The SpringCore Card Stand front plate is a different beast from the stickers. It is a 3.0 x 1.5 inch aluminum panel, CNC cut, UV printed directly onto the metal. The plate is the branded face that sits on the front of the stand, so your logo is what the buyer sees when the card is displayed.
The plate is CNC cut before it's UV printed, so there is still a small bleed on the template. Extend your background color out into the bleed zone so there are no white edges after printing, and keep text and critical elements inside the safe zone so nothing sits too close to the cut line. The template has both the bleed and safe zone marked, so just drop your artwork inside the guides and you're set.
The full face of the plate is yours to work with. Most customers fill it edge to edge with their logo or a branded background.
Bleed, cut line, safe zone: what they mean in plain English
These three terms show up on every print template and confuse a lot of people. Here is what they actually mean, and here is why you don't need to memorize the exact measurements.
- Bleed is the area outside the finished edge of the sticker. Printers need artwork to extend slightly past where the cut line will fall, because cutting machines are not perfectly precise. If your background color stops exactly at the edge and the cut is off by even a fraction, you get a thin white strip on one side of the sticker. Bleed prevents that. Extend your background and any edge-to-edge artwork out to the bleed edge marked on the template.
- Cut line is where the physical cut will happen. It's the boundary of your finished sticker. The template shows this as a distinct line. Anything outside the cut line is bleed that gets trimmed away. Anything inside is what you get.
- Safe zone is the area inside the cut line where it's safe to put text, logos, and anything else you don't want at risk from cutting variation. Keep your logo and any text inside this boundary and you won't have anything getting clipped at the edge.
If you're using the template, the bleed, cut line, and safe zone are already drawn for you. Just drop your artwork inside the guides and you're done. If you're sending me your logo directly, I handle all of this during proof setup. I'll position everything inside the safe zone and send you a proof before anything goes to print. Either way, you'll see exactly what the sticker will look like before it's printed.
File format guidance
The format you send has a direct effect on what I can do at proof time, so I'll be straightforward about it.
Vector files (PDF, AI, SVG) are the best option. Vector files keep your logo, text, background, and any other design elements as separate layers that I can move, resize, recolor, and fine-tune independently. If your logo needs to shift left by a hair to center correctly in the safe zone, I can do that without touching anything else. If the background color isn't quite reading right on the sticker material, I can adjust it without destroying your artwork. Vector files give both of us the most flexibility at proof time, which means fewer back-and-forth emails and a faster turnaround.
PNG and JPG files work fine as a starting point, but they have limits. Once artwork is saved as a flat raster image, everything is merged into a single layer. I can position the image and adjust basic things like brightness, but I can't separate your logo from its background or move individual elements. If your PNG has a transparent background that's one less issue. If your logo is embedded in a colored background and I need to separate them, I have to email you back and ask for the source file, which costs you time.
If you have both a vector and a raster version of your logo, send the vector. If you only have a PNG or JPG, that's fine, send it along. Just make sure it's the largest, highest quality version you have.
Color and resolution
Send RGB. I work in RGB through the whole proof and production process, so whatever you design on your screen is what I see on mine. No color conversion step, no CMYK gotchas. If your file is already CMYK that's fine too, but RGB is the simplest path and it's what I recommend.
300 DPI minimum for PNG and JPG files. That's the floor for print quality at sticker size. If your file is below 300 DPI I'll let you know in the proof email and ask for a higher resolution version before printing. Files at 300 to 600 DPI come out sharp. Files pulled from a website or screenshot tend to be in the 72 to 96 DPI range, which is fine for screens but prints blurry on a sticker. If you can see individual pixels when you zoom into your image in a photo editor, the resolution is probably too low.
Download the templates
These templates open in any design application that supports layered files: Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer, Inkscape (free), or Figma. Each template has the bleed zone, cut line, and safe zone pre-marked on a locked guide layer, so you don't need to know the exact measurements. Drop your artwork onto your own layer below the guides, turn off the guide layer for your final export, and save as PDF, AI, SVG, PNG, or JPG. Then upload the file when you add the product to your cart at checkout.
Quick answers
Can I send a logo I pulled from my website?
You can send it, and I'll take a look. Website logos are usually 72 to 96 DPI, which is too low for sharp print output. If the resolution isn't workable I'll let you know in the proof email and ask for a higher quality version. The best backup is to ask your designer for the original source file.
Do I have to use the template or can I just send my logo?
You don't have to use the template. Just upload your logo at checkout and I'll build the layout for you at proof time. The template is there for customers who want more control over exactly where elements land and want to approve placement before I build anything. Either approach works.
What if my design has a background that goes edge to edge?
That's a common design choice and it works well. Make sure the background extends into the bleed zone so there's no white edge after cutting. If you're using the template, it shows exactly where the bleed edge is. If you send me a flat PNG with a background color, I'll extend the fill into bleed during proof setup and you'll see the result before it prints.
My logo is RGB. Is that a problem?
RGB is what I prefer. I work in RGB through the whole proof and production process, so there's no color conversion step to worry about. CMYK files work too, but RGB is the simplest path.
Ready to order?
Download the template that matches your product, drop in your artwork, and upload it at checkout. If you have questions about your file or want me to take a look before you order, just email me at sales@actualprints.com.
Brian Brader
Owner, Actual Prints